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It’s that time of the year where candidates are looking for a change. Most recently I’ve personally helped three friends too! For whatever reason, you’ll find yourself at a crossroad and think if I’m not going to stay here, then now comes the painful part, you ask “where do I belong next?”

Job hunting should be easy with technology, right? WRONG! Technology allows job opportunities to be advertised through multiple job platforms and social media sites. It’s easy to click “Apply now” button and send your resume through but it has also created higher online competition for roles. Some social sites will show you how many candidates have already applied and you might be already a number 30-50 after only a few hours of the job being posted! I know it’s stressful especially knowing that these days you don’t get a phone call and sometimes not even an email rejection.

What goes wrong in our job hunting search:

Job hunting is reactive – you don’t actually know what you want.

Mass applications – you might apply for everything and roles not at the right level.

Frustration – letting emotions get the best of you

Impatience – finding the right opportunity takes time than jumping to the first offer

How to make job search less painful:

Do some self-reflection – what do you want in your next role, what do you like in your previous jobs and target your search on this criteria

Be proactive and do research – what companies or industries interest you. Apply direct with company websites as they may not externally advertise.

Network – grow your professional circle of experts and seek advice. Go to industry events. It’s a great way to uncover other opportunities that aren’t advertised, through recommendations.

Find reputable recruitment agents with experience and contacts to leverage. You’ll have more eyes and ears in the market to think of suitable roles for you.

Review and edit your resume – take time to think of your achievements/ projects and know the transferrable value/skills you can bring to the next role.

Social media profile like LinkedIn/ job platforms are current so potential employers/ recruiters can find you and reach out also.

Job searching does take time and it’s full of rejection which no one wants to experience. Do remember everyone has a place in the workforce. It’s an uncomfortable process but you might be pleasantly surprised about the different opportunities which may present themselves and the experience is truly valued by the next employer crying out for those skills.

Quote – “Don’t be afraid to take a risk. You can’t lose whether you succeed or fail. You’ll grow either way, but what you’ll regret is not trying.” By Helene Lemer

You can contact Eden Ritchie Recruitment via our website and follow our team on LinkedIn and Twitter or call on +61 7 3230 0033.

I just passed around the earth once more and whilst the build-up to a birthday isn’t what it used to be, it did get me thinking about the age I am and the way I feel. I said to someone in the office yesterday “how did I become this age?? I don’t feel like I am this number!!”.. they laughed and kindly told me that I certainly don’t act this number! I decided to take that as a compliment!

Anyway, it got me thinking.. this year the youngest of Gen X (1965-1979) are turning 40 (the upper end are well into their 50’s) and Gen Y or Millennials (1980-1994) are well into their 20’s and 30’s! So this begs the question, is 50 the new 40? Is 40 the new 30? We are working longer and harder than we ever have.. I see this every day in my job. We want more…seem to need more and it appears we are developing more of a conscience when it comes to social injustice and our planet for example..

The hard fact of the matter is that many of us are not 30 anymore. In fact, the upper end of Gen X are ‘middle aged’ BUT we are not finished with work and with our careers… many are just hitting their straps! SO how does this translate if you are searching for work, as many are, well into their 50’s and 60’s? It shouldn’t matter right??

No matter how smart you are, when you’re young, you’re a little silly. You haven’t lived and learned yet.. you lack the depth of experience, often compensating with confidence and energy as well as a great deal of enthusiasm. Or in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30, the wit; and at 40, the judgment.”

With four or five or six decades behind us, we start having the perspective necessary to begin serious thinking, as well as the skills and experience to do great work and to add not only to an organisation, but to the generations coming up behind us. We can offer perspective and life experience and, well, let’s be honest.. we still have a great deal to do, to prove and to accomplish…

SO get out there, get amongst it! Stop telling yourself that you are aging yourself out of the workforce!… and do what you do.. don’t be afraid of a younger generation.. perception is changing, maturity and experience is being embraced.. you just need to work with the people who value and embrace it.. and why would you honestly want it any other way!

You can contact Eden Ritchie Recruitment via our website and follow our team on LinkedIn and Twitter, or call on +61 7 3230 0033.

As a recruitment consultant reviewing resumes and seeing people’s LinkedIn profiles, I often wonder what are the drivers which make people change careers? Also what makes a person stay in the one job for a number of years?

I recently read a book by Jim Winner – Split Second Choice, The Power of Attitude. This book explains the cycles each of us go through when we make a major change in our careers. If you can learn to recognise these cycles, you may be able to work through them instead of repeating past mistakes. It helps you realise how important your own attitudes can lead to a situation.

When you start a new role or join a new company you are in the first phase of “excitement” living the dream and commitment. After a few learning challenges you may then experience “frustration” and move through emotions of – shock, denial, fear, anger, justification and acceptance. When we reach this point, we start “looking.” This is when we end up repeating the cycle.

Or the other option is realising our emotions and instead of “looking”. We can reassess and “recommit” to the original dream and goal. It’s about re-dreaming the dream, having short terms goals and a mentor to give you support or perspective on your goals.

These stages identify significant patterns that influence every aspect of our lives. These patterns eventually become habits for us and often are followed with no conscious thought. However, by being aware of these patterns, you can take control of the behaviour they cause, and find connections to the solutions that make these patterns work for you, instead of against you.

This simple framework encourages us to learn how to identify the decision point, make the right choice, and be successful in all our endeavours.

As John Maxwell says: Motivation determines what we will do, and Attitude determines how well we will do it. Commitment determines when we will do it, and Recommitment determines whether we keep on doing it.

Contact us on (07) 3230 0033 to arrange a time to come in and meet us and discuss how we can be of assistance.

You can contact Eden Ritchie Recruitment via our website and follow our team on LinkedIn and Twitter or call on +61 7 3230 0033.

At Eden Ritchie Recruitment, we utilise LinkedIn every day to source high quality candidates that are either already looking, considering making a move, or are suddenly captured by an attractive opportunity. Below are some tips to help put you on our radar:

Profile Pictures – Yes… LinkedIn is Social Media, however, it is a Professional Platform that both Recruitment Agencies and Clients alike utilise. It is important to present yourself as professional as possible, ideally as you would to an interview. If you have had the opportunity to have headshots professionally taken, use them!

Add a Professional Summary – Much like within your resume, the purpose of a professional summary is to summarise your most relevant skills and best achievements. Provide an overview of your career to-date, key achievements and an overall summary of your personal attributes.

Ensure role titles and dates align with your resume – It is a real red flag when we compare resumes to LinkedIn and see an inconsistency with either role titles or dates of employment. Ensure your “headline” is up-to-date with your current position title and that all previous employer names, position titles and employment dates are accurate.

Keyword search Algorithm – When we search LinkedIn for specific skillsets, we rely on LinkedIn’s algorithm to show the most relevant profiles. To increase your effective SEO for your LinkedIn profile, ensure there are role specific keywords within each position, words that you often see across position descriptions and include your relevant technical skills.

Availability – let us know! If you are nearing the end of your contract, or currently available – list it! This is easy to do via profile editing under “Headline” and can assist us with ensuring we contact you when we have suitable roles available.

Contact us on (07) 3230 0033 to arrange a time to come in and meet us and discuss how we can be of assistance to help you achieve your career goals in 2019!

You can contact Eden Ritchie Recruitment via our website and follow our team on LinkedIn and Twitter, or call on +61 7 3230 0033.

You weren’t prepared to change right now and thought you might have another 6-12 months to consolidate in your current role.

You feel that you still have a few key things you want to deliver on before you move to a new role.

Then keep this in mind…..

We don’t get to control when things happen, but we get to control how we respond.

You don’t want to have regrets or wonder what could have been.

There will always be things to do in your current role.

You will often think you don’t quite measure up right now, that you are not yet fully formed in relation to the demands of this new role.

What do you have to lose (apart from time) by applying?

I wasn’t ready at 27 to start my own business, I had very different plans to travel and work overseas for a few years. When the opportunity presented to launch Eden Ritchie Recruitment, I took it and it changed the course of where my life could have gone. I don’t have any regrets, it has never been an easy path and there have been, and continue to be, plenty of challenges and opportunities.

We have to remain open, flexible, responsive or we risk stagnation. When opportunities present, we need to take a calculated “risk” and put ourselves out there. This can sometimes mean failure or rejection and that is never easy. So, there may never be “the right time” but what you can ensure is that you are a worthy contender.

Put your best forward – write the best possible application that you can. Constantly seek out learning and development, professionally and personally. Leverage your mentors and constantly seek their advice. Make yourself relevant not redundant and be able to articulate your vision, your fit, your values, your achievements in relation to this new opportunity. Ultimately be brave and embrace any learnings that come your way and apply for any role aligned with your experience and capabilities, that genuinely takes your interest, that both scares and excites you.

Temporary and contracting roles can be an easy entry point into an organisation that you have been waiting to get into, the application process can be less complex and be so much FastERR! In some cases, you can be talking with one of our recruiters one day and starting your assignment the next.

Here are a few great reasons to consider temp or contract work for your next career move.

Temporary work can allow you the flexibility to work around your planned holidays or time to follow your own personal pursuits, like study or family. You can control how much work you take on and when. This can be an enticing benefit and something that keeps people temping for long spans of time.

A convenient way to fill a gap between permanent positions can be with a temporary role. It is easier to show a potential employer your willingness to take on a smaller assignment than to explain a break in employment. In addition, a smaller contract can really be a great way to earn income while deciding on your next role.

Build your skills in areas that give you that competitive edge with temp work. It is a smart and focussed way to increase your set of experiences. You can build your resume across multiple roles and you will have a bank of demonstratable achievements to take into your next job interview. You will be able to show your next employer your initiative and drive and prove how adaptable and flexible you are.

While on your temp assignment you will have the ability to make connections in an organisation or industry that may otherwise be difficult to break into. You can establish friendships, share information and ideas, demonstrate your skills to colleagues and learn from others. If you make an effort to interact and make contacts, while working in your temp assignment, you will open the door to more opportunities in the future.

Temp work can see you earning a competitive salary, as you are being compensated for missing out on benefits like sick leave and holiday pay. However, if you work smart and your skills are in demand you can really profit from the increased pay rate.

You get to try an industry, job or organisation before you lock in, making it easier to decide what your next career move may be. Successfully completing a temp assignment and leaving a good impression, will help you to be more easily placed on your next assignment and if you are a good fit for the organisation, your temp work may just turn into an offer of a permanent position.

Did you know that temporary roles or contracting work can cover everything from administrative work, to policy, project, accounting or IT?

If you are interested in becoming a contractor and taking on temporary work, the FastERR team at Eden Ritchie are here to help. Send your resume to jobs@fastERR and you’ve made your first move toward a rewarding next step.

An article in the AFR (Friday 10 May 2019) attributed to the Financial Times titled “What happens when it all goes wrong” got me thinking. The article, in essence, was about entrepreneurs and failure; mental health and how often when a venture “fails”, most are reluctant to talk about it.

In my opinion, it’s good to rip the lid off this and get real, to have more honest conversations about starting, running and maintaining a venture. In our heavily saturated FOMO social media world, and particularly from a business perspective, we hear a lot about the rapid growth-er’s, the big earners, the deal makers, the stars….

I personally don’t want to hear sordid details in the media about the rapid fall from grace of certain senior executives, often publicly shamed and forever associated (sometimes legitimately, sometimes not) for making poorly informed decisions. Whilst to an extent we can all learn from these “mistakes” it’s often a sensationalised, one sided story.

Back to the article. Statements such as – “it is all consuming”, “it takes over your life”, “people feel they have to put on a front” were only a few that resonated with me. Whether you are launching a business or building a career there will be constant challenges and setbacks, along with some degree of what you define as success.

Part of the role of a recruiter is to tell applicants they were unsuccessful in their application for a career opportunity. My experience in doing this has shown me that some take this feedback better than others. Some use it as a learning and development opportunity, some take it personally, I guess it can also depend a bit on context.

Being adaptable, dusting yourself off, surrounding yourself with the very best support and your ultimate motivation for what you are doing – aside from purely financial returns, were highlighted in this article as key factors to ensuring you keep punching. Taking a setback for just what it is – a moment in time, a learning opportunity, another chance to practice your resilience and a time to phone a friend for a pep talk. Keep punching.